Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Tachinidae, Exoristinae? Zambia
Posted by Will van Niekerk on 16-01-2012 21:14
#1
My initial response when I saw this particular little fellow was not "Oh, how peculiar, just like the billions (well...) of Chrysomya sp (I'm assuming) swarming around my face but extremely bristly!" If I had noticed the bristlyness at the time, or hadn't been in the process of stalking an owlfly, I might have pursued it in the interest of more photographs, but I didn't, and I didn't, and so I am stuck with this one rather uninformative photograph to work with, and I'm passing that on to you.
I am aware that more than one family of fly has metallic green members, but this one seemed so ridiculously bristly that I felt it was time to use my general fallback for an odd-looking fly, and call it a tachinid until clever people could tell me otherwise.
On the offchance that there aren't metallic green flies covered in bristles in every family of the diptera, I'm hoping someone here can point me in a more realistic direction.
EDIT - Image hadn't been resized - trying again.
Date: 22-08-2011
Place: Low Intensity Agricultural land, Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia
Edited by Will van Niekerk on 04-02-2012 15:32
Posted by Paul Beuk on 16-01-2012 22:24
#2
Better retry attaching the image. ;)
Posted by Will van Niekerk on 16-01-2012 22:37
#3
Sorry for that. Image resized to fit and attached.
Posted by ChrisR on 16-01-2012 22:38
#4
Looks like a tachinid to me ... metallic tachinids occur in a number of subfamilies, all around the world :)
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 17-01-2012 23:35
#5
Chris, why not Tachinidae? Very strong bristles on tergites, subscutellum (not visible) seems to have a bulge judging by the uplift scutellum, rather long flagellomere, very strong M vein bent., very strong proclinate pair of frontal bristles, etc.
Posted by ChrisR on 18-01-2012 00:13
#6
jorgemotalmeida wrote:
Chris, why not Tachinidae? Very strong bristles on tergites, subscutellum (not visible) seems to have a bulge judging by the uplift scutellum, rather long flagellomere, very strong M vein bent., very strong proclinate pair of frontal bristles, etc.
ChrisR wrote:
Looks like a tachinid to me ... metallic tachinids occur in a number of subfamilies, all around the world :)
I agree ... in fact I agree so much that I already said so ;)
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 18-01-2012 00:17
#7
ok. But you seemed to me reluctant.. that's why I asked. So we agree in Tachinidae. Maybe Theo can tell more about the possible genus for this one.
Posted by ChrisR on 18-01-2012 02:04
#8
Ahh, well I am happy that it is a tachinid ... it just doesn't look like anything European so it is hard to pinpoint which group it might be most closely related to. Obviously not Phasiinae and presumably not Dexiinae ... so probably Exoristinae. The hairy eyes are interesting ... but it would need a specimen really to key it :)